


Hilda x Marianne

by Zanzalara



Category: Fire Emblem Series
Genre: F/F, First Time, Friends to Lovers, Loss of Virginity, Romance, Slow Burn, Yuri
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-11
Updated: 2021-02-10
Packaged: 2021-03-10 03:54:25
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 10,161
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27507937
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Zanzalara/pseuds/Zanzalara
Summary: The developing relationship of Hilda and Marianne
Relationships: Marianne von Edmund/Hilda Valentine Goneril
Kudos: 28





	1. A close call

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first time writing anything like this, any feedback would be greatly appreciated!

Looking down at her bloodstained clothes, Hilda let out a sigh.

"I was hoping that by covering the rear, I wouldn't have to worry about getting dirty." She exclaimed. 

Bandits had been harassing a village in a nearby region of Garreg Mach Monastery, and the Golden Deer house had been sent to lend support to the land. This was all relatively standard. The students had been in their training for a few months, and were more than comfortable fighting off brigands without needing the support of the Knights of Seiros. Unfortunately, they had notice that this practice did start to have downsides. The opportunity to get a hold of the heir to one of the noble houses always seemed to make the bandits come out in greater numbers, hoping for the chance to collect a hefty ransom.

Whilst most of the students had been eager to rush into the battle, Hilda and Marianne had elected to guard the supply convoy, and ensure that no reinforcements came from the rear. This suited the pair of them just fine. Whilst both being immensely talented, the former hated the work and labour of the fight, and the latter was shy and timid, constantly in fear of making a mistake. To her dismay, Hilda had not been able to avoid the combat this time, as half a dozen of the raiders had looked to try to approach the town through the back road, although despite being outnumbered 6 to 1, she had no trouble dispatching of the attackers, only a small cut on her cheek to show for the fight, leaving the opposing combatants dead, or unable to fight from the severity of their injuries.

"You could have leant a hand, you know? We all know your capable of more than just healing with that magic of yours." Hilda remarked.   
Marianne stared blankly, as if caught in a daydream. She had been fixated on watching the heir to house Goneril in combat, completely mesmerised by the way she danced around her opponents blades. This was only made more captivating by the knowledge that Hilda rarely trained. Everything she did was almost entirely down to natural talent, and not only was it incredibly effective, but for a brief moment, Marianne could do nothing but think about how perfect the pink haired girl looked whilst doing it.

"Hello, earth to Marianne? If you don't want to fight, you can at least fix up my wound, before my clothes get ruined any more than they already are" The agitation in Hilda's voice snapped Marianne to attention.

"Sorry" Marianne replied meekly, healing Hilda's cut with a small wave of her hand and a small stream of white light. "I just-"

"Yeah, I know, fighting isn't your scene, don't worry about it." The lack of interest in bloodshed resonated with Hilda. She didn't   
need an explanation as to why Marianne didn't want to be here, it was obvious for anybody to see. Truthfully, Hilda's main annoyance stemmed from the fact that she couldn't just switch off and let somebody else handle the dirty work along with her.

Hilda wiped down the blade of her axe, wondering how her classmates were fairing, as the talk dissolved to silence, which was sharply broken by an outcry from Marianne

"You looked incredible!" She exclaimed, the words almost falling out of her mouth. 

"Pardon?" replied Hilda. This was the first time she had heard Marianne volunteer her speech without having to be prompted, let alone   
with a personal complement. 

"Sorry, I just mean... good job." Marianne shrunk back in to her shell as quickly as she had left it, looking at the ground to hide   
her face. Hilda could have sworn that she saw her begin to blush. Truth be told, a "Good job" from Marianne was still more talk than she usually offered without being prompted. Getting her 

"Oh, well... Thanks." Hilda was still confused as to what had just happened. She had spent a lot of time with Marianne on missions like this, and not once had she heard her sound so excited. "Thanks for patching m- AHH!"

Hilda's thanks were cut abruptly short. In the calm conversation following the skirmish, she had let her guard down, and now faced the consequences as she crumpled to the floor with the blade of a hatchet jutting from her back. 

"You shoulda finsihed the job!" came a cry from the grounds of the fight, as Marianne looked up to see a bandit on one knee, having just thrown his axe into her friend. Emotions coursed through her. If she had helped then this wouldn't have happened. If she had been paying attention this could have been stopped. She could have prevented this. 

Blinded by rage she pointed her hand at the assailant, and from nowhere an incredible wind thrashed towards him, leaving him in pieces within the blink of an eye, the gale cutting through him effortlessly.

Hilda was shocked. It was no secret that the adopted daughter of House Edmund was a natural talent, as well as being a good student in the classroom, but she effortlessly output magic with a power that fully trained mages would be proud of conjuring. She questioned if what she had seen was real, as she could feel herself struggling to stay awake, and the pain was almost unbearable. She saw Marianne turn towards her, with her arm outstretched, and as her consciousness faded, she was enveloped by a blind white flash.


	2. Repaying the favour

Hilda X Marianne - Chapter 2  
\-------------------------------

The tense atmosphere in the Garreg Mach Monestary was suddenly kicked in to life when the most recent patient jerked awake in their bed.

"I'm... Alive?" Queried Hilda. This didn't quite do her feelings justice. The last thing she remembered was taking a hatchet deep into her back, and she barely felt a thing, just a tingle where the wound was. She racked her brain, and remembered seeing Marianne cut down the one responsible for the assault with a blast of wind, before throwing a wave of white light towards Hilda. 

"Honestly, and don't take this the wrong way, but we don't really understand how either" A familiar voice responded. She looked up and saw Claude, the head of the Golden Deer House and heir to the Leicester Alliance, smiling faintly down at her. Properly taking in her surroundings, she saw Leonie, a fellow classmate, was also in attendance. 

"Where's Marianne? Is she okay?" Hilda questioned anxiously. She was slightly upset to that she wasn't also there, since the heir to house Edmund was presumably the reason that she was still alive. 

"She's in the stables, looking after the horses, you know how she is. She was pretty shaken up, even by her standards we could barely get a word out of her." Leonie responded, Claude nodding in agreement. 

"Care to shed any insight on what happened? We would really like to know what exactly went down out there." Claude asked. Hilda could tell he was trying to keep his calm and easy going personality up, but he was obviously concerened, and eager to know how exactly she was still alive to answer his questions.

Hilda retold the events that she could remember, as briefly as possible. Even though she was there, the still struggled to believe that Marianne was capable of healing such a greivous wound. Claude also shared some information in return. When the rest of the house arrived, Hilda looked to be completely unharmed. If it wasn't for the gash in her clothes and the sheer amount of blood on he ground around her, you would have thought she was simply sleeping. The ordeal had gone down around 6 hours ago, something which also caught Hilda off guard. Even with a cleric on hand, her recovery period from an attack like that should have been much longer. She had to go and see Marianne.

"Look, I appreciate that you probably want to know more, but I need go and see Marianne. She's the reason I'm alive, and I have to thank her." Hilda pulled herself from the hospital bed. Claude and Leonie jumped to help her stand, before realising it was unnecessary. They couldn't even express their shock before Hilda had ran out of the room, heading to find her saviour. 

It didn't take her long to reach the stables, and as soon as she rounded the corner she saw the bright blue hair of Marianne immediately. She ran towards her and shouted her name. Marianne looked up without hesitation.

"You're... okay!" Marianne yelled, her eyes lighting up with the joy her voice projected. This quickly wiped from her face as Hilda stopped infront of her. "I am so sorry. I should have been paying attention. I sh-" 

"Sorry?! You saved my life!" Hilda interrupted, not for a second acknowledging the apology.

"But it's my fault you needed saving. I distracted you and it nearly got you killed." Marianne said, tears beginning to form in her eyes. 

"I let my guard down, thats my fault." Hilda responded sternly. "You are not responsible for anything except somehow healing a wound that should have left me dead on the dirt, and that is the only thing you should be holding yourself accountable for"

Marianne felt the fear slowly slip from her. She didn't feel like this was being said out of pity or to console her, but because it was genuine. 

"Thank you so much." Hilda continuted "I wouldn't be here without you. I need to repay you. Anything you want or need, please tell me."

"Repay... me?" Marianne was confused. She was just doing her job, she didn't need repaying for not letting her friend die.

"Please, I need to make this up to you. What can I do." Hilda responded. Marianne could tell she wasn't going to drop this, and she would have been lying if she said she wasn't intrigued by the proposition. 

"Well..." Marianne regretted speaking almost immediately. 

"Go on, it's okay." Hilda pushed. 

"Come to my room and talk to me tonight." Marianne blurted out.

"W-what? Come and talk to you?" Hilda made no attempt to hide her confusion. Talk to her? She could talk to her at any time, this was hardly a repayment. 

"I'm sorry. It was a silly request. Forget I said anything" Marianne said, dropping her head to the floor.

"No, it's fine, I can come and talk to you whenever you need, I just... don't get why this is what you want?" Hilda responded, trying to reassure her that the request was okay. A conversation in exchange of her life was hardly an unreasonable trade.

"Well... I find it hard to talk infront of people... or to people. Or at all, really. But I feel comfortable with you. You make me feel like it's okay not to be alone" Marianne explained, her eyes never leaving the floor. "Please, if you want to repay me, just come and talk to me. The thing I want more than anything is to feel less alone."

Hilda would be lying if she said she this made things any clearer. Marianne was quiet and shy, sure, but she wasn't unpopular. If all she wanted was a conversation or a friend, she could go to anybody, what made Hilda so special? All that being said, she was hardly in a position to refuse. Marianne seemed to be genuinely serious, and if this is all she wanted as a way to pay back saving her life, she couldn't exactly say no. 

"Well then, I guess I'll see you tonight! Looking forward to it!" Hilda responded, trying to hide her confusion at the situation. 

With that, they said their goodbyes and parted ways, Hilda spending the rest of the day making sure the rest of her classmates knew she was okay, waiting impatiently for the night to fall, wondering what would be in store.


	3. The meeting

It was safe to say that Hilda had no idea what to expect as she walked up to Marianne's door. She was excited by the prospect, however. Marianne was so shy and reserved that she felt honored to be asked to come and spend time with her, even if it was in some rather unusual circumstances. 

She took a deep breath, before knocking on the door of the girl who had saved her life less than 12 hours ago. Almsot as sooon as her hand touched the door, it opened, and she was almost pulled inside.

"You came!" Exclaimed Marianne, the excitement clearly visible in her face. "I thought you might change your mind!"

"Of course not! I said I would be here! Besides, I have been looking forward too it!" Replied Hilda. She wasn't lying either, she was eager to talk more with the person responsible for still breathing. 

Hilda took a moment to admire the cleanliness and order of Marianne's room. Being in a Noble's room, it was very similar to her own, however it was kept in much better shape. The small fire in the corner gave off a light which lit up Marianne's face. Hilda had always seen her as attractive, but she was just realising how radiant she really was.

"So... What did you want to talk about?" Hilda enquired, curious as to what this was all about.

"Well, anything really. I just want to start getting out of my shell more, but I don't really feel comfortable talking with anybody except for you. I don't mind what we discuss." Marianne answered, feeling it best to be completely honest.

Hilda knew she was blushing, but had no idea why. She was used to expecting people to like her, but the fact that Marianne felt so comfortable around her, and only her, made her feel... special. 

"Oh, well..." Not wanting to scare her away with anything too difficult or personal, Hilda figured she would start with something easy "Where did you learn your magic? What you did today was incredible! Most mages would have to train for years to learn anything like that"

The two girls then got lost in conversation, talking for hours how they had both become so skilled in their respective fields of combat. It was odd, both girls showed little interest in their fighting whilst on the battlefield, however in this moment with each other, they could have carried on talking about it forever. Marianne had finally found somebody with whom she could be herself, and didn't have to hide away and act like she didn't exist, and Hilda was made to feel like she was valued for who she was.

As the night drew to a close, Hilda agreed to come and visit again the following night, which didn't take much persuading, she was desperate to spend more time with Marianne. For the entirity of the following day, it was all that either one of them could think about. 

Once again the night brought the two together, and the conversation flowed endlessly, despite talking about nothing particularly interesting, Hilda and Marianne just wanted to be in each others presence. It didn't stop here, either, and continued for several more nights.

On the fourth night, however, the conversation started to take a much more personal turn.

"Um, Hilda" Marianne began. "Have you ever... been with somebody?" Marianne barely managed to force the question out, her face flushing with colour as the words left her mouth, her eyes fixed on the floor as if her life depended on it.

"Huh? You mean like... kissing somebody?" Hilda was taken aback, just moments ago the conversation had been regarding a new axe which Hilda had purchased from the marketplace. Still, Marianne nodded in confirmation.

"Well... not really" Hilda responded, still baffled as to where the question had come from. "What makes you ask that".

"At some point we are going to have to find husbands, and marry, and have heirs to our houses, but I can barely bring myself to speak to anybody" Mariannes voice was shaking as she explained her thoughts, and neither Hilda nor herself expected her to volunteer such personal thoughts.

"I feel like I am so far behind. The commoner girl from the Black Eagles house is always on a date looking for a potential suitor, the heir to house Galatea has had many men try to win her heart, yet here I am unable to even have a conversation". She continued, tears beginning to form in her eyes. 

"Marianne it's okay!" Hilda felt a knot form in her stomach as she listened to her friend discuss finding herself a husband, "If it's a husband you are looking for, then one day you are sure to meet somebody who you feel comfortable being around, just like you did with me"

"But it has taken this long for me to even find a friend!" Marianna exlaimed loudly, on the verge of shouting. "What if I am never able to do this with anybody else! Who would want to be with me then! I'm going to be alone for-"

Marianne couldn't even finish the sentence before Hilda had placed one hand under her chin, lifted her head up, and planted a kiss firmly on her lips. Marianne had no idea how to respond as her new found friends lips were pressed up against her own. The initial shock left her paralysed, but it didn't last for long. She eventually parted her lips, and let the Goneril heir in to her mouth. Neither girl particularly knew what they were doing, but neither wanted it to stop. After what felt like a lifetime, but was infact just a matter of seconds, the two parted.

"Maybe.... Maybe it isn't a husband that you need" Hilda stated. Marianne had no idea how to respond, staring blankly at Hilda, trying to process what had just happened. 

"I'm sorry. I'll go." Hilda said, swiftly standing and rushing out of Mariannes room. Marianne wanted to stop her, but she just couldn't find the words. As the Goneril heir left the room, a faint sigh left the blue-haired girls lips, and a smile formed on her face.


	4. Awkward Escalation

Hilda rushed back to her room. What had she been thinking?! Marianne had barely started to speak to her and she just goes and kisses her. All the progress the timid noble had made had probably just been undone within a matter of seconds. What had even possessed her to do it, Hilda had never felt this way about anybody before, she had never felt this longing to be in somebodies presence. It hadn't even entered her mind that Marianne was a girl, and that if she went down this path, she would be unable to marry an heir who would give her childrem to continue her lineage. She just wanted to be with her.

Hilda reached her room, opened the door, entered, and slammed it shut behind her. She just wanted to sink in to nothingness and forget that this had ever happened. No more than 2 minutes after she had shut her door, A knock rattled against it. Hilda opened her door to see Marianne standing there.

"Marianne, I-" She couldn't even begin to get the apology out of her mouth before Marianne walked through open door and kissed her firmly on the mouth. Hilda took no convincing, and immediately began to kiss her back, their tongues probing in to each others mouths. Hilda embraced her friend, holding her head against her own. She never wanted this moment to end.

Eventually, the two seperated. Hilda gasped for breath, partially from the length of the kiss, but mostly from the shock that the meek girl who struggled to get a sentence out of her mouth had just barged in to her room and kissed her. 

"That was amazing. Nothing has ever made me feel like that before." Exclaimed Marianne, speaking for the first time since arriving at her friends room. It hadn't occurred to her before now, but this was her first time entering Hilda's dormitory. 

"So you... aren't mad?" Hilda queried, the answer painfully obvious infront of her. Her mind was racing. She had no idea what she was feeling or what to do about it. She just knew that she wanted it to keep going.

"Not at all. Nothing ever made me feel as happy as when you kissed me." Marianne responded, not knowing what to do next. An awkward atmosphere settled over the room as the two girls stared at each other, both wanting to say something, but neither knowing what to say.

"I want to do more!" Marianne yelled, out of nowhere. Hilda was shocked, although these sudden outbursts of confidence and expression had become more frequent over the last few days, she never expected her to say something like that.

"M-more? Like you want to kiss more?" Hilda questioned, wanting to clarify what her friend was insinuating.

"No! Well... Yes! But that isn't what I meant!" Marianne was stumbling over her words, trying her best to maintain eye contact and stop herself from resorting to the comfort of staring at the ground. "I want to go... further"

Hilda couldn't believe her ears. A week ago you would have struggled to find out what the adopted daughter of House Edmund wanted for breakfast, now she was in her room propositioning that they go further than kissing. Hilda wanted to respond with some sort of confidence, to give off the impression that she knew what she was doing, but truthfully this was as new to her as it was to Marianne, and she had no idea how to move this forward.

"Me too." Was all the pink haired noble could force out of her mouth. 

"So... should we..." Marianne gestured to her clothes, her face turning a shade of red which made her look more at home in the Black Eagles than the Golden Deer. Hilda was still in shock. Now she was suggesting they strip? Was this even the same person? Was she possessed? Still, she was knew that there was only one answer they both wanted to hear, as hilda slowly nodded her head, her eyes glancing over Marianne's figure.

The awkwardness of the situation only excited Hilda more as she watched the blue haired beauty remove her dress, her boots, and her underclothes, leaving her stood in just her underwear.

"Are... are you going to do it too?" Questioned Marianne, as Hilda stood there still fully clothed. Somehow, despite everythig that was going on, the most bizarre aspect of this entire situation to both girls was that Marianne appeared to be taking the lead. 

Hilda began to undress, until she too was standing in just her underwear. 

"So... What now?" A confused Marianne asked, her eyes aimed firmly at her friends chest, making no attempt to hide where her attention was.

"I don't know." Responded Hilda, a giggle leaving her mouth as she said it. Marianne's eyes lit up, and a small smile shone over her face. Standing here, almost naked, with a girl she had properly started getting to know a few days ago, she felt more comfortable than she ever had before. She felt safe. 

"Well... the kissing was nice... and it might be even better now..." Marianne responded, her eyes never leaving Hilda's cleavage.

"Hey, Marianne... My eyes are up here" Hilda quipped, lifting up her friends head in a similar manner to which she had done when the first kissed, seeing her smile widen before once again pressing her lips up to hers.

Neither girl knew where to put there hands as they locked lips once again, both of them wanting to explore the others body, but neither wanting to break any boundaries the other may have. Still, the lust was getting the better of them, and Hilda's right hand slid from the top of her friends back slowly down to her butt, resting it on there, before giving it a small squeeze.

The moan that exited Marianne's lips would catch both girls off guard, and briefly cause them to break their kiss as they shared a smile before beginning once again. 

Suddenly, Marianne broke the kiss once again.

"Can I... Um... Can you... erm..." She stuttered out. Hilda tilted her head in confusion.

"Your... Your underwear..." Marianne whispered.

"Oh! Yeah!" Responded Hilda, reching to remove her bra.

"No!" Marianne quickly grabbed her hand with a surprising amount of force. Hilda was confused until Marianne once agains whispered. "Can I?"

Now it was clear, and Hilda's face lit up. Marianne reached behind Hilda, and for the first time in her life, the latters breasts were exposed to somebody else. 

"Wow" was the only thing to exit Marianne's lips. She stared at her friends freshly exposed breasts, unable to move or think as her heart pounded. The reaction from her friend caused Hilda to grow more aroused than she ever had been before.

"Umm.. Hilda... Y-Your panties... They're... They're getting wet." Marianne remarked, looking down at the next article of clothing she was supposed to remove.

"I'm just excited, I've never done this with anybody before!" Hilda exclaimed, reminding Marianne that she wasn't the only one experiencing her first sexual encounter tonight. "If you don't want to take them off, you don't have too! We don't have to go any further than you are comfortable with."

Hilda had completely misunderstood Marianne's intentions. She wasn't hesistant at all about going further, she was frozen from the excitement of being able to do so. Feeling the moment losing itself, she quickly grabbed Hilda's panties and pulled them down to her ankles with no hesitation or warning, throwing them behind the girl on to her bed.

"You're... prepared" The heir to house Edmund remarked, sounding almost disappointed. Hilda was confused, until she realised that she meant that she was completely shaven.

"Oh... yeah. Sorry, is that a problem?" Hilda anxiously asked, worried that Marianne was unhappy with this development.

"No! It looks great! You look great!" She panickedly replied, not wanting to ruin the moment. "It's just I'm... not."

Hilda giggled

"Don't laugh! I wasn't expecting this to happen! You probably don't want to se- HEY!" Marianne couldn't even finish her sentence before Hilda had pulled her panties, stopping at her knees. 

"There. Stop panicking" Hilda remarked, a sudden wave of confidence washing over her. "I still want to see you, shaved or not."

A smile flashed over Mariannes face once again as she unhooked her bra and stepped out of her panties.

"Here, let me prove it to you. If you want me to stop, just say." Hilda said reassuringly, guiding her hand down to her friends most private area. Stopping just before she touched it, she looked into Marianne's eyes, which were fixated on the girls hand. Gently, she carressed the outside of the girls vagina. Realising this was being made more awkward by both of them standing there, she backed up a couple of steps and sat on the edge of her bed, and used her other hand to pull Marianne towards her, sitting her down on her lap.

"Is this okay?" Hilda asked, receiving a quick nod in response.

Suddenly, Marianne did something that caught Hilda completely off guard. She brought her hand down on top of Hilda's and began to guide it around her genetalia, almost as if she was giving her a tour. As she glided over the entrance to her hole, she stopped and looked at the pink haired beauty, before placing a kiss on her cheek, and guided 2 of the girls fingers inside of her, moaning from the pleasure as she did so. She had never had somebody else inside of her before. 

Hilda was in shock, the two girls acting solely on instinct, and she secretly enjoyed the brief moments where Marianne took control. She slowly pumped her fingers inside of the other girl, taking her moans and whimpers as a sign that she was doing something right.

Marianne could not believe the sensations that were flooding through her. She had never felt ecstasy on this level before in her life. She had touched herself before, but never had it felt this good, and never had she felt herself approaching a climax so quickly.

"I'm... I'm getting close!" She whimpered, almost breathing it in to Hilda's ear. 

This only encouraged her to go faster as she felt the legs of the girl who just a week ago was too shy to speak begin to shake on her lap. Marianne cried out with a moan that almost shook the walls as the felt herself reach her orgasm, as Hilda slowed down the penetration fo her fingers, before removing them entirely, absentmindedly bringing them to eye level and admiring her handywork.

"Thank you..." The blue haired girl whispered, coming down from the high of her first orgasm at the hands of another person.

Hilda giggled. "You don't need to thank me!" She remarked.

Marianne's head rested on Hilda's shoulder, unsurprisingly it seemed that it had taken a lot out of her. She jolted up, however, when Hilda brought her fingers up to her mouth, and sucked the results of Marianne's orgasm off of them, licking both her fingers and her lips afterwards.

"You... you just..." Marianne couldnt even get the words out of her mouth, unable to describe how seeing that made her feel. "H-how did I... Did it taste... good?"

Hilda giggled once again. "It was perfect. Everything was perfect. You were perfect." She said, relishing the smile that washed over Marianne's face as her head sunk back into her shoulder. 

It was late, and daughter of house Edmund was obviously exhausted.

"Why don't you stay here for the night? We can share my bed." Hilda proposed, feeling Marianne nod in agreement against her body. 

The two fell backwards on to the bed, when Marianne felt Hilda's previously discarded panties next to her. Holding them up, she asked

"Hey... C-can I keep these?"

"Of course you can!" Hilda responded, unable to wipe the smile from her face, as she embraced her new lover and began to fall asleep with her in her arms.


	5. The Dust Settles

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After the events of the previous night, discussion begins of where their relationship goes from here,

Chapter 5  
\------------  
Hilda could still feel Marianne's body pushed up against hers when she awoke the next morning. Just thinking about what had happened was putting her head in a spin. She peeked over at Marianne, sighing with relief when she saw she was still asleep, thankful for every extra second she had to plan what she was going to say. Everything had moved so quickly, one minute they were just talking, the next they were kissing, and just moments later Hilda was touching her friend in her most private area before sharing a bed with her. 

_What if Marianne regretted it?_

This was the main worry permeating through the sea of thoughts that were rattling around the mind of the daughter of house Goneril. Nothing had been planned or talked about, everything just... happened. She seemed to enjoy it last night, but anything could change after she had time to think it through. It wasn't like they could just turn back time and undo it, they had to live with this, keep seeing each other in class, fight together on the battlefield... This could get extremely awkward.

The anxiety was driving her insane. She slowly slid out of the side of the bed and tried not to wake her sleeping friend, and began to get dressed. Hilda didn't really have any plans, she just needed to do... something. Anything. Anything to take her mind off of the potential blowback of last nights events. 

She finished dressing herself, and eyed up the axe leaning against the corner of her room. Letting out a small chuckle to herself, she realised that for the first time in her life, she was actually considering training of her own volition. They had spent one night together and already she was having a good influence. Claude would approve.

"Ugh.. mhhh."

Hilda jumped, forgetting for a split second that she wasn't alone. She looked over at the bed next to her and saw Marianne beginning to stir. 

"Morning sleepyhead!" Hilda said, trying to hide her worries.

"Ah, Hilda!" Marianne responded, jolting upright and turning bright red, clearly startled. "S-sorry, I j-just forgot what happened".

"It's okay, I understand! It happens to all of us." Hilda was just trying not to put any extra pressure on her friend. Knowing Marianne as well as she did, she imagined the current situation for her was the least comfortable it was possible to be.

Marianne let a slight smile fall on to her face and slowly sunk back down onto the pillow. 

_Well this is a good sign_ thought Hilda, glad that Marianne seemed to be getting comfortable. _At least she didn't run out of the room_.

"So... I don't me to be abrupt but... how are you feeling about last night?" She asked, unable to hide her concerns any longer.

"H-huh? W-well I had a good time..." Considering she was usually a reserved and quiet girl, she felt strangely comfortable being asked to share her opinion on her first ever sexual encounter. 

"So you don't regret it?" Hilda responded, needing to be absolutely sure.

"What? Regret?! Not at all!" Came the reply without a second of hesitation, which cleared all doubt from Hilda's mind. "H-how about you?"

"Not for a second." Responded Hilda, smiling at her new lover.

They continued to talk about the nights events, recapping everything that happened. Hilda was surprised at how open and willing Marianne was being. She expected the usual probing and pushing for answers would be necessary, but Marianne was volunteering information freely. Curious, Hilda decided to inquire.

"Hey, how come you are completely open about this, but usually we can't even get two words out of you?" She asked.

Marianne thought about her answer for a few seconds, before responding with something that would fill Hilda with warmth. 

"Well... I feel comfortable with you."

Hilda embraced Marianne in a hug and genuinely considered if she could just stay like this forever. From anybody else, feeling comfortable around somebody might be a common feeling, had with friends, family, and even casual acquaintances. But with Marianne, she knew this was special. Those words coming from her mouth were a stones throw away from a declaration of love. 

The conversation continued and veered on to the inevitable topic

"So... Where do we go from here?" Asked Hilda. The question had been burning on her mind since they started talking.

"O-oh... I hadn't really thought about it" Marianne replied, with a hint of guilt, before hastily adding "I want to do it again"

Hilda Giggled 

"I gathered as much from the past hour of conversation" She laughed. "I meant in terms of what we are to each other"

"Well... I don't know. I'm not really used to being with... people. I've never had any sort of relationship like... this. I rarely have had people that I would say I felt comfortable enough around to say they were close friends. I get along people, like our classmates. Claude, Lysithia, Ignatz, all of them, they are great, but I don't feel... close to any of them. I don't want to rush in and start calling this a relationship when I'm not even sure I know how to handle a proper friendship. I understand that this is something more than that, but I don't want to call it more than it is, or have that put any pressure on us." Marianne responded, managing to double her usual daily word count with the reply to a single question, which flew out of her mouth with a speed as if it had been fired from Claude's bow.

Hilda felt a lump in her throat, unsure if whether it was guilt from pressuring her and making it seem like such a light topic, or from how much of what Marianne said resonated with her. Sure, Hilda had a lot more social experience, and had a lot of people she would call close friends, but never anything like this. This was uncharted territory for both of them.

"It's okay! I promise, I understand!" She replied, quick to settle her friend's nerves. "How about we just take it slowly, lets just keep it open. So far, we have just acted on instinct, and it seems to have worked out. Neither of us know what we are doing, so... lets just keep doing that, and do things when we are both comfortable?"

The blue haired girl's face lit up as she she looked at Hilda.

"Thank you. I mean it." She said. 

Suddenly there was a knock at the door.

"Hey, Hilda, you in here? Training starts in 10 minutes, Claude said to ask if you were coming?" A voice bellowed.

Hilda had completely forgotton that today was their first training session since her injury, and from the look on Marianne's face, so had she. 

"Oh! Raphael! Yeah, I'll be right there, meet in the courtyard outside of the House Room?" She responded

"Yeah, see you there!" He replied, before she heard him running off. 

"Shit! You had better go and get ready" Hilda said, as Marianne was already on her way to the door.

"See you in the courtyard!" Hilda yelled after her.


	6. Class reunion

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hilda attends her first training session following her injury

By the time Hilda arrived in the courtyard, the rest of her class had already gathered, and were engaged in various different conversations. On her approach she looked over towards Marianne, stood off to the side, alone. She didn't have time to wonder what was running through her head, as she was soon spotted by the group, and as expected, she soon became the number one topic of conversation.

"Ah, our wounded warrior returns! Not only has she recovered, but she is actually on time for once!" Claude jested. Hilda liked Claude, but she already knew these jokes were going to be run in to the floor before the end of the day, and still carry on for the next 3 moons. 

"Maybe Marianne's healing magic also fixed her sense of time?" Chirped Leonie. This was going to be a long day.

"If this keeps up you will be finding out exactly what Marianne's magic can fix." Retorted Hilda, getting a laugh out of several members of the group, including Leonie herself. As much as it could grate on her some times, Hilda really did appreciate her friends. They wouldn't be able to joke like this if they didn't get along so well.

"No, but seriously, it's good to have you back." Leonie replied, a warm smile on her face. "We were all worried about you." Murmurs of agreement came from behind her.

"Well, if that's anything to go by, I think we are all safe from harm for a while. We might just have the best healer in the whole academy!" Boasted Raphael, as all eyes turned to look at Marianne.

"O-oh... I... I didn't do anything special..." She responded, looking at the floor as if she would rather have been anywhere else. 

"If you say so." Lysithea responded "Personally, I think its a miracle Hilda is still walking."

Marianne still didn't look up. Hilda understood the struggle, here classmates were just trying to be nice, but being the centre of attention was not something the Golden Deer's Healer was used too. 

"Speaking of walking, we should probably start doing that. Hanneman's going to be waiting." Hilda stated, just trying to move the conversation on to... anything else.

"Now she want's to go to training? Really is a Miracle." Claude responded with a chuckle. "She is right though, let's go guys."

The eight of them made there way over to the training fields, casual small talk filling the time on the journey. Hilda wished she could have caught Marianne alone for a couple of minutes, but as was expected, all anybody wanted to do was ask about her injury. Eventually, they arrived at their destination, and just like her classmates, sarcastic comments were the theme of the day from her teacher too.

"Ah!" Said Hanneman, exasperated. "My class finally arrives!"

"Sorry professor, that's my fault, still feeling a little bit stiff." Replied Hilda. She took an axe to the spine, she was going to take every silver lining she could, even if that was just an excuse to be late for class.

"Hilda! You're back with us so soon!" Hanneman replied, surprised.

_Success._ She thought. _Conversation diverted._

"Well I had a good healer" She said, glancing back at Marianne to see her begin to blush, and a slight smile formed on her face. Hilda was glad to see compliments from her were met with a more positive reaction, even if you would need to study her face in a classroom to see it.

"Oh I don't doubt that." Responded the professor. "I just expected you to try to weasel your way in to some more time off."

Wonderful. Back to this.

"Well, maybe after what happened, I figured I could use the practice." Hilda retorted. She was mostly joking, but she couldn't deny that she would be keeping her skills a little sharper from now on.

"An interesting conclusion." replied the scholarly teacher. "From what I hear, you performed admirably, in spite out of the outcome. I hear it was six enemy combatants you dispatched single handedly?"

"Technically, it was five. Needed a bit of help on the last one." Hilda joked, turning to Marianne and shooting her a quick smile, which was repaid in kind.

"Still, your natural talent continues to astound me." Hanneman replied. "Tell me, is there nothing that could get you to apply yourself?"

A question Hilda had heard and answered all too many times. She got ready to answer in the same tired way, when suddenly...

_Idea_

"Well..." She began. This was not going to be an easy request. "Wyverns." She said. Hanneman cocked an eyebrow. "I always wanted to try riding a wyvern, and I think I have the skills to make it as a Wyvern Rider."

"Ah, now walking is too much effort. Hilda is back to normal." chimed Claude. This time, Hilda appreciated the joke. It was not easy to get flight training in the academy, and her house leader's little quip helped take some of the pressure out of the situation. If she knew Claude at all, this was the outcome he intended. For all his jokes, he knew when to be serious, and when his light-hearted manner could benefit a situation.

"This is not an easy request to grant, but I do think it is one worth granting." Hanneman replied, after some time. Hilda was genuinely quite surprised he was going for it. "The only issue I see is that Flight training is typically done in pairs. Usually I would suggest Claude, as he seems like an excellent candidate, however due to his duties as both house leader, and the future leader of the Alliance, I fear that this may be putting a bit too much on his plate for now."

Hilda looked back to see claude nodding in approval of Hannemans sentiments. Perfect.

"Would it have to be a Wyvern for my partner? Would they be able to use a Pegasus instead?" Hilda inquired.

_Take the hint. Please. Take the hint Marianne._

"That should be fine, we have had pairs train with different beasts before." Replied Hanneman, giving information that they all already knew.

"U-um..." A small voice quivered from the back of the group. "I like Pegasus'..."

_I like Pegasus'_ Hilda thought, as the class let out a small giggle. Never had she wanted to wrap her arms around somebody to this extent, just to hide her away from the world. Marianne was adorable.

"W-what I mean is... Would I be able to take flying lessons too?" Marianne continued.

"Hmmm... A flying cleric. This could be interesting. You would have a prime view of the battlefield, and quick access to anybody who needed assistance... Tell me, am I correct in thinking you also have some skill with a sword?" Hanneman questioned. It seemed like he was buying in to the idea, but Marianne, skilled with a blade? This was news to Hilda.

"Yes! I was trained with a sword before I came to the academy! I have also always had an interest in lances, I never got to use one but I'm sure I could pick it up, and I would have Hilda to keep me safe whilst I got the hang of it!" Marianne rambled excitedly as the class looked on in shock.

Leonie poked her head in-between Claude and Hilda's and simply whispered "She's saying... words...", which honestly summed up the reaction of... everybody.

"Very well. You are clearly extremely enthusiastic about this. I shall speak with the Archbishop and see if we can get this organized." Hanneman said, to the elation of both girls. "Now, lets get on with our training."

Hilda turned to Marianne and saw her smiling, from ear to ear, and it was a beautiful sight to see. An excuse to spend hours alone each week? Heaven.


	7. The approval of Rhea

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hilda and Marianne attempt to get approval for flying lessons from Lady Rhea, before also trying to assist a third party with her own struggles.

_Flying Lessons..._ Thought Hilda. _Flying lessons alone with Marianne_

She couldn't believe how lucky she was. Throughout the entirety of the training session all she could focus on was what it was going to be like to soar through the skies on the back of a wyvern next to her new... friend? Lover? Whatever she was, she wanted to do it with her.

Hilda wasn't lying about liking wyverns, either. Whilst it was a convenient excuse, she had always found them interesting, ever since her brother had started telling tales of the Almyrans he had defeated. They were famous for the skills in the sky, and despite them being the bad guys in her brothers anecdotes, she couldn't help but think they were incredibly cool. Maybe one day she would be fighting them herself, from the back of her own mount, with Marianne by her side.

Her mind wandered throughout the entirety of the time with her class. Fortunately, the session was mostly just regarding tactics and formations, so her lack of attention didn't result in a stray arrow or fireball catching her. 

Time flew by, and before she knew it, Hanneman was dismissing them and sending them on their way.

"Hilda, Marianne, if you could please come with me, we shall see if Seteth or Lady Rhea are available to discuss your extra lessons." The professor added.

 _Ah... right... one more step before we can celebrate._ Hilda thought, forgetting they needed approval from the higher ups. Daydreaming would have to wait.

It didn't take long for them to find the Archbishop and her second in command, who were discussing recent affairs in Rhea's Chamber.

"Ah, Professor Hanneman, do come in." The Archbishop said, her words echoing off of the walls around her. "Is there something I can assist with."

"Thank you, Archbishop." The professor said politely. "As a matter of fact their is. Two of my students wish to apply for flight training, I personally feel that this is a fine idea. Hilda is one of our most gifted students, her natural talents with an axe would rival that of any knight, and her brother is Holst Goneril, the defender of Fodlan's Locket."

Hilda was surprised to hear Hanneman singing her praises. The namedrop of her brother was not for no reason, he was known throughout the academy for being an incredible warrior, both during his time studying here, and after his graduation in his defence of the border.

"Marianne is one of the monasteries finest clerics, showing feats of magic that anybody 20 years her senior would consider their crowning achievement. She also has experience with a blade, and a natural kinship with animals, having tended to many horses and Pegasus already." Hanneman continued.

"I am familiar with both girls already." Rhea replied. "I understand your reasoning for putting them forward for this, and I agree it would be beneficial to both their development, and to your class as a whole."

Hilda as just waiting for the 'but'.

"However, as you know, Flying lessons are not something we can just give around on a whim. They would have to be tutored by a knight, both Seteth and Manuela are far too busy to be tutoring students at present. That would mean pulling away a unit who would otherwise be looking for the so called Death Knight." Rhea added, causing Hilda's head to drop.

Hilda was familiar with the Death Knight and the stories that surrounded him. He had shown up in the Holy Mausoleum at the end of the last month, attempting to open the tomb of Saint Seiros.

"I understand this, Lady Rhea, however, if I may be so bold as to point out, Hero's Relics are also something that are not traditionally given out on a whim, yet the professor of the Black Eagles is now in possession of the Sword of the Creator, chosen weapon of Nemesis." The professor responded, a tone of jealousy in his voice, to the shock of both girls.

"You should watch your tone, professor." Seteth retorted. "The archbishop would gladly hel-" 

"Enough Seteth." Lady Rhea interrupted. "The professor raises a valid concern. If one house is given special treatment, how can the others be expected to compete?" 

Hilda felt a smile start to form on her face.

"I will find a knight with the availability to teach your students once a week, for two hours. I shall also have a Pegasus and a Wyvern assigned to them. From this point forth those will be considered their responsibility, and they must be cleaned, fed, and groomed by the students. Is that understood, girls?" Rhea asked, directing the question at the two students, who both nodded enthusiastically, lost for words.

"Good. I shall ensure Cyril brings any further information to your professor. If that will be all, I shall bid your farewell." She concluded, a tone of defeat apparent in her voice.

The trio left Rhea's chambers in a hurry, before she could change her mind. Hilda turned to Hanneman

"Thank you so much, Professor!" She stated excitedly "I really appreciate you sticking your neck out for us like that, we both do!"

Marianne nodded in agreement, whilst Hanneman smiled at the pair.

"I truly believe you have what it takes to do great things with this opportunity. I hope you realise how fortunate you are, and apply yourself." He added, directing this clearly at Hilda.

"I will, Professor, I promise!" She responded, genuinely meaning it.

"Good. I shall be in my office if you need anything." He replied, ducking in to his study room as the two girls headed back outside. Once they reached the seclusion of the stairwell, Hilda reached out and gave Marianne a tight hug.

"H-hilda, would you like to come and look the animals with me?" Marianne asked, her voice shaking.

"I would love too! Let's go!" Hilda responded, as the two headed for the stables, where the Pegasi and Wyverns were kept. On the journey there, Hilda desperately wanted to hold Marianne's hand, but resisted the urge to keep their situation a secret.

Upon arriving at the area where the Pegasi were kept, they spotted a young, blonde haired student taking care of one of the animals. She looked up upon hearing the pair's arrival, and Hilda recognised her as Ingrid, of house Galatea, from they holy kingdom of Faerghus, and a member of the Blue Lions. Hilda then remembered her only other encounter with Ingrid, and hoped that the other girl had forgotten.

"Hi Marianne!" She said cheerily, clearly recognising her friend.

"H-hello, Ingrid. This is Hilda, my... classmate." Marianne responded, hesitating before the last word.

"Ah, yes, I believe we met once. From what I remember, she knocked me unconscious with a training axe at the mock battle shortly after Professor Byleth joined the academy." Ingrid responded, giving Hilda a sly smile before adding. "Don't worry, no hard feelings!" 

Hilda smiled back at the girl, before asking "Nice to meet you outside of a training battle, are you getting flying lessons too?" 

Ingrid's face dropped. "You two are getting flying lessons..?" she asked, disappointment filling her voice with a hint of jealousy. "I always wanted too, I'd love to fly a Pegasus, but nobody in my house is interested enough to do it with me. The Church wont let you train alone, Sylvain and Dimitri preferred horses, and Annette decided to pursue magic instead... Nobody else really has the talent for it"

Hilda had clearly hit on a sore spot, and had no idea what to say to fix the situation. 

_Why did I even ask._ Hilda thought. _I just saw what Hanneman had to do to get us lessons. Not smart, Hilda_

Truthfully, she was just so caught up in the excitement of it all that she just hadn't thought before speaking, and now it was almost as if she had rubbed the girl's face in it.

"I'm sorry" Was all she could think to say.

"It's okay... I think I'm going to go, hope you guys have fun." She said, clearly still upset by the situation, before walking away.

"Poor girl." Said Hilda, once she was out of earshot. "I really put my foot in it there."

The two girls went over to a nearby Pegasus, just watching it within its pen.

"I-I feel bad for her... She is here tending the animals all the time, and she is so nice, always kind to me..." Marianne replied eventually, after around 10 minutes, before adding "D-do you think we could we help her..?"

Hilda looked at her, with a confused expression on her face. "I'd like too, but I don't know what we can do."

"I-I know you wanted this to be a chance for us to spend some time together but... we could see if she wanted to train with us."

Hilda avoided eye contact with her friend. She knew she meant well, but she really had hoped this would be something they could do as just a pair.

"She is from a different house, would it even be allowed?" Hilda asked. This wasn't an excuse, either, the various houses trained against each other frequently, but rarely side by side.

"I don't know... sorry for bringing it up." Responded Marianne guiltily. 

Hilda felt her stomach drop seeing the girl she cared about so upset.

"Don't you dare apologise for trying to do something nice. I just don't know if it's something that we will be able to do." Hilda said, sternly, getting a smile out of Marianne once again. She was getting good at making Marianne smile. "Lets head back to the house room, and see if we can think of anything."

Marianne nodded, and the two set off, very few words being shared between them on their way back. Arriving at the courtyard, there was a commotion going on outside. Hilda could see Claude, and what looked like Dimitri, class leader of the Blue Lions, surrounded by several other students. Listening closely, she tried to make out what they were saying.

"This is ridiculous and you know it, Claude." Dimitri angrily stated. "First the Black Eagles gain access to a legendary weapon, and now the Golden Deer get permission for flying lessons at a time when all of the staff are supposed to be looking for this Death Knight."

News travels fast in Garreg Mach, apparently.

"Look Dimitri, what Rhea decides to do is out of my control. I get why your angry, but why are you taking it out on me?" Claude asked.

"If you had any sense of honour you would reject these extra lessons in the interest of fairness." Dimitri snapped.

"I am not going to deny my classmates opportunities because you are upset, Dimitri. I understand your frustration, and if I can help, I will, but it really is out of my control."

"Dimitri, drop it, man." Came a call from a tall, red headed Blue Lions student, who Hilda recognised as Sylvain.

"Your Highness, please." Said a huge figure, who looked like he came from Duscurr. Hilda had heard of the man, named Dedue, as being one of Dimitri's retainers.

"Fine." Dimitri snapped once again. "But you know this is not just, Claude. You might favour underhanded tactics, but the Blue Lions will not be mistreated."

He stormed in to the common room, slamming the door behind him.

Hilda and Marianne observed the scene from a distance. Following its conclusion, the former turned to the latter and said "Come on, we're going."

"Huh? Going where?" The blue haired girl responded.

"To sort this." Hilda replied.

She marched off in the direction of the staff offices, going up to the second floor, straight past the teachers rooms, and pushed open the door to Rhea's chambers, Marianne right behind her, looking confused.

Regret immediately filled Hilda. Perhaps it wasn't the brightest Idea to barge in to the Archbishop's private quarters unannounced. Lady Rhea, who was looking out of a nearby window, turned to face the two girls.

"Hilda? Marianne? I was not expecting to see you again so soon. To what do I owe the pleasure?" She said, seemingly unconcerned by the rudeness of Hilda's entry.

"Would it be possible for a student from another house to take the flying lessons with us?" Hilda asked, wasting no time getting to the point.

"Another house? It would be unprecedented. What makes you wish for this student to join you?" Rhea inquired.

"It's Ingrid Galatea. She is great with the Pegasi, is skilled with a lance, and would be make a great pegasus knight." Hilda responded, attempting to imitate Hanneman's proposal of herself from earlier. In truth, Hilda knew next to nothing about Ingrid, or her capacity as a potential Pegasus rider. "Nobody in her house is wanting flying lessons aside from her, and it doesn't seem fair that she should be denied this opportunity."

"Tell me, have you spoken to Professor Hanneman about this? Or perhaps her teacher, Professor Manuela? How about either of your house leaders, Dimitri or Claude?" Hilda shook her head ashamedly to all of these questions. Admittedly, she may have circumvented the proper lines of communication.

Rhea let out a deep sigh, and turned back to her window. "You are trying to help another student. One who is not of your own house or kingdom, yet you try to help her anyway. This is something to be admired. I also understand you recently took a near-fatal wound protecting a village from bandits in the name of the church." Rhea said. Hilda was surprised that news of her injury had made it all the way to Rhea. "As repayment for this, I shall speak to Professor Manuela. If she is comfortable with this arrangement, and you can get approval from your own professor, I shall grant you this request."

Hilda beamed at Rhea. "Thank you! Thank you so much!" She said, running out of the room with Marianne right behind her. 

"That was amazing!" The cleric said, a smile adorning her face.

"Hey, it was your idea, and it was a good one." Hilda replied, also smiling. "I just copied what Hanneman did."

Quickly, the pink haired student glanced around, and after checking the coast was clear, planted a quick kiss on Marianne's forehead, who's cheeks flushed with colour as her smile grew even bigger.

"Now it's time for your part." Hilda continued.

"W-what?" Questioned Marianne.

"You came up with the idea, you can break it to your friend. We will go and get Hanneman's approval, and then head straight on over to the Blue Lions common room, and you can explain the situation." Hilda explained, seeing Marianne's smile turn in to worry.

"You want me to tell her?! Can't you do it?" Marianne replied, clearly dreading the thought of the situation.

"I'll be right there with you, but I really think you should be the one to break the news. Please? For me?" Hilda pleaded, once again causing her friend to smile.

"F-fine, if you're there with me, and if anything goes wrong, you step in, okay?" Marianne reluctantly agreed.

"Deal" Responded Hilda, who walked towards Hanneman's office. 

The professor did not take to the idea immediately, wanting his students to solely gain the benefit of the training, however quickly changed his tune when Hilda pointed out that Ingrid would surely be grateful, and her crest would make for great study material. This was a complete shot in the dark, Hilda didn't even know the girl had a crest, but it turns out she did, and Hanneman was convinced.

Feeling pleased with herself Hilda dragged her friend down the stairs once again, and they headed for the courtyard.


End file.
